Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Paola and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $938 a month against $2,086 in Paola, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

95

Cost of Living Index in Paola
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Paola Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Paola

🇲🇹 Malta

$2,086

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$938

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Paola and in Chiang Mai

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Paola and in Chiang Mai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,086 per month in Paola vs $938 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Paola $2,086
Chiang Mai $938

A couple spends around $3,108 per month in Paola vs $1,426 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Paola $3,108
Chiang Mai $1,426

A family of three spends $4,130 per month in Paola vs $1,914 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Paola $4,130
Chiang Mai $1,914

Paola costs about 122% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Paola sits 55% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 30% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.50 €17.34

$2.26 ฿75.4

762.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.7 €77.1

$19.18 ฿641

351.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.16 €11.70

$5.59 ฿187

135.42%

Cappuccino

$2.67 €2.38

$1.72 ฿57.6

55.23%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 €2.70

$0.64 ฿21.54

375.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 €1.96

$0.33 ฿11.18

569.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.47 €3.98

$2.36 ฿78.7

89.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.10 €4.54

$3.90 ฿130

30.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 €1.19

$2.05 ฿68.6

-34.63%

White Bread (500g)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.40 ฿46.70

-7.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.42 €3.93

$1.28 ฿42.89

245.31%

Eggs

$4.16 €3.70

$2.25 ฿75.3

84.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.00 €7.11

$16.94 ฿566

-52.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.33 €9.19

$2.74 ฿91.6

277.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.58 €16.53

$9.36 ฿313

98.50%

Apples (1kg)

$4.27 €3.80

$2.40 ฿80.3

77.92%

Banana (1kg)

$2.70 €2.40

$1.01 ฿33.92

167.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.68 €3.27

$1.61 ฿53.9

128.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.29 €2.93

$1.52 ฿50.7

116.45%

Potato (1kg)

$2.45 €2.18

$1.28 ฿42.90

91.41%

Onion (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.11 ฿37.22

82.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.28 €2.03

$0.72 ฿24.09

216.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.14

$0.52 ฿17.54

148.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.64 €5.90

$4.33 ฿145

53.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.91 €7.04

$17.73 ฿593

-55.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$1.63 ฿54.4

3.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.35 €2.09

$2.85 ฿95.3

-17.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.57 €2.28

$0.85 ฿28.31

202.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.9 ฿1,801

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.59 €4.98

$1.17 ฿39.18

377.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.20 €1.96

$0.57 ฿19.00

285.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.01 €24.02

$2.37 ฿79.2

1039.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.45 ฿48.32

6.21%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$37.7K €33.5K

$20.5K ฿684.3K

84.11%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$38.9K €34.6K

$26.5K ฿886.1K

46.83%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$102 €91.1

$62.3 ฿2,083

64.32%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$25.39 €22.58

$12.27 ฿410

106.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.44 €37.75

$19.97 ฿668

112.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$59.8 €53.2

$37.91 ฿1,267

57.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.76 ฿126

Cinema Ticket

$9.88 €8.79

$6.71 ฿224

47.24%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$359 €320

$797 ฿26.6K

-54.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K €9,795

$14.8K ฿495.7K

-25.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.8 €77.2

$53.3 ฿1,780

63.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.15 €35.72

$25.05 ฿837

60.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €87.6

$91.6 ฿3,062

7.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.9 €70.2

$73.5 ฿2,455

7.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,294 €1,151

$464 ฿15.5K

178.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,066 €948

$305 ฿10.2K

249.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,778 €1,582

$915 ฿30.6K

94.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,645 €1,463

$552 ฿18.5K

197.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,598 €3,200

$1,912 ฿63.9K

88.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,442 €2,172

$1,438 ฿48.1K

69.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$595 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.9

5.57

-47.94%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Paola: October 10, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Paola

$1.1K 51.1%

Chiang Mai

$305 32.5% 71.4% $761

Groceries & Markets

Paola

$326 15.6%

Chiang Mai

$238 25.4% 26.9% $88

Eating Out

Paola

$281 13.5%

Chiang Mai

$79 8.4% 71.9% $202

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Paola

$170 8.2%

Chiang Mai

$95 10.1% 44.4% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Paola

$137 6.6%

Chiang Mai

$110 11.7% 20% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Paola

$80 3.8%

Chiang Mai

$51 5.5% 35.5% $28

Getting Around

Paola

$27 * 1.3%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.5% 128% $34

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,294 in Paola versus $464 in Chiang Mai. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $87.0 in Paola versus $19.00 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $326 vs $238 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇹 Paola

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

10:00 10:00 AM

15:00 3:00 PM

5 h ahead of Paola

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,000

127,240

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Paola Chiang Mai 8,320 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Paola
Chiang Mai

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Paola vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Paola costs about 122% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,129 per month in Paola and $1,408 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Chiang Mai, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $87.0 in Paola and $19.00 in Chiang Mai. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 37% more in Paola, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Chiang Mai, where all-in costs run around $938, than in Paola at $2,086. In Chiang Mai it covers expenses comfortably, while in Paola it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Chiang Mai costs $938 versus $2,086 in Paola. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Paola makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.